Background
Paulekas was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of Lithuanian immigrants.
Paulekas was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of Lithuanian immigrants.
He was convicted of armed robbery in 1938, but was released in 1942 and joined the United States Merchant Marine. Around 1946, he moved to Los Angeles where, by the early 1960s, he had set up home on Beverly Boulevard. There he established an art studio where he "made a living of sorts by giving clay modeling lessons to Beverly Hills matrons who found the atmosphere in his studio exciting," and also ran dance classes.
According to writer Johnny Rogan, Paulekas" "free thinking lifestyle and artistic passion inspired beatniks, aspiring existentialists and Valley girls in need of rebellion." In 1964, Paulekas offered rehearsal space to the Byrds, and the following year the troupe of free-form dancers, with Paulekas and Franzoni, accompanied the group on their nationwide tour.
Later, Arthur Lee and Love also used his premises for rehearsals. In some clubs, Paulekas and the dancers became as big an attraction as the onstage entertainment.
Credited as "Vito and the Hands", Paulekas recorded a single, "Where lieutenant"s At," which featured some of the Mothers of Invention, with producer Kim Fowley in 1966. He appeared in several documentaries of the period, including Mondo Hollywood (1967) and You Are What You Eat (1968).
After Richard Nixon"s election as United States President in 1968, he moved to Haiti and later Jamaica, before returning to settle in Cotati, California.
There, he and Franzoni established the Freestore street theatre and performance group, and built a bandstand for the town as well as contributing sculptures. They had four children, at least one of whom, Godo, died as a child. Paulekas died in Cotati in 1992, aged 79.
The troupe - including several of the young women later to become known as The GTOs, and members of the Fraternity of Manitoba - occupied the Log Cabin in Laurel Canyon formerly occupied by Tom Mix and later by Frank Zappa.